BULB GROWING AT THE UNITED STATES BULB GARDEN. 



17 



TULIPS. 



It is stated 1 that tulips were introduced from Turkey by Busbecq 

 to Vienna, and thence, about the year 1560, to the Netherlands, where 

 their beauty and variety of coloring soon created much emulation 

 and their popularity culminated in the historic craze known as the 

 " Tulipomania." It is reported that at that time from 2,000 to 5,000 

 florins, equivalent to $80-1 to $2,010 of American money, were paid for 

 a single bulb of a new, especially meritorious variety. 



Tulips in variety can be successfully grown in commercial quan- 

 tities in many sections of the United States. The tests so far show 



Fig. 16. — Digging tulips at the United States Bulb Garden. The five young men or 

 boys shown in the illustration will each dig on an average one bed, 3 by 75 feet, a 

 day. Photographed July 10, 1912. 



that tulips grown at the United States Bulb Garden are superior in 

 several respects to imported bulbs. (See fig. 15.) 



PROPAGATION. 



The propagation of the varieties of tulips tested at the garden has 

 been by offsets. The increase is from 67 to 273 per cent, depending 

 upon the variety. The bulbs for the most part have been planted in 

 beds, practically the same as hyacinths. If new varieties are desired, 

 they are secured by means of seed. 



HARVESTING. 



The methods of harvesting tulips are essentially the same as those 

 employed in all bulb-growing regions. The bulbs are dug out by 

 hand with a small, short-handled spade when the soil is at all heavy, 

 or with the fingers when the physical condition of the soil will permit. 

 (Fig. 16.) 



1 The Gardener's Assistant, v. 1, p. 517. 



